


The Car Ride

by Spazzo47



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 09:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11941377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzo47/pseuds/Spazzo47
Summary: The first time that Will was taken from Mac, he went to a jail cell and she couldn't be prouder of him, even if she doesn't want him to do it.  This is a story about what happened right after the wedding.This is for Lilac Mermaid's August Fan fiction Challenge, The First Time That…





	The Car Ride

Mac watched as the door closed behind her husband, his lawyer, the federal prosecutor and the guards that would take him to prison.  She wanted to follow, but Will made it clear that he didn’t her there when he arrived.  He wouldn’t be able to see her and it would break him if he accidentally did.  So she went back to the chapel to face her friends.  She forced a brave face as she told them that they still needed to put on the news tonight.  Everyone knew their role tonight.  Don would run Sloane at 8 and Jim would run Elliot at 10.  Charlie would take Mac home with him because he refused to allow her to be alone in “that fucking half finished apartment”.  Mac reluctantly agreed to stay with he and Nancy through the weekend, but on Monday she’d be back at work and Will or no Will, she would stay in their apartment.  

Charlie gave Mac his arm as he walked her to his car and opened the door for her.  When he sat in the driver's side, he said, "I don't understand what happened to gallantry.  Men don't escort women or open doors anymore. It shouldn't be reserved for romantic relationships.  Or get to play pretend to be their father for a day."  

Mac saw the twinkle in his eye at that last part and gave him a kiss on the cheek before Charlie put the car in gear.  “Will considers you his father, now your mine too.  No pretending.”

Charlie patted her hand and turned on the radio to a big band station he listened to.  He told her that he hasn’t made the switch yet to satellite radio.  As he gave the reasons why, Mac leaned her head back in the passenger seat and closed her eyes.  Charlie looked at her for a second.  He’d studied, well both of them, since he brought Mac to the newsroom to save Will and his show.  When he hired her, he could look at her and know that she hadn’t slept more than 4 hours a night.  He could tell how she and Will were doing by how much sleep she appeared to get.  When they were friendly, she got more.  When they were fighting, less.  After Will was with Nina, not much at all.  And after they learned the truth about Genoa until election night, none.  But after the engagement, she seemed to sleep more regularly thank he'd ever seen.  Until this week.  So he squeezed her hand and told her to rest.  She needed whatever she could get.  

The song on the radio changed to the news and before Charlie could change channels, she woke up and stopped him.  “I want to hear this, I need to know how it's being reported.”

“It doesn’t matter.  Sloane and Elliot know what to say.”

“Please Charlie?”  Charlie looked at her big eyes and knew why Will couldn’t ever say no to her, at least not for long.  Her passion and determination would keep any right-minded thinking person’s arguments at bay.  

The regular news person ended his report with the fact that Will had been taken into custody after refusing to revealing his source.  Mac smiled at the report.  That’s how the news should be done.  There wasn’t a commentary on whether he was right or not, this was a news report and the reporter gave the facts.  Tonight, Sloan will sit in Will’s chair with his name in the corner of the screen and she will give a similar report and then later, when she has “Editorial” chyroned in front of her, she will talk passionately about the need for freedom of the press.  But the integrity that they are fighting requires that she and Elliot will wait until the proper time to give their opinions.  

Mac told Charlie all this while the radio station played a couple commercials and Charlie reminded her that she taught the network that.  He made a rousing speech about how she is singlehandedly changing how everyone does the news.  The news will always be done with the integrity that she has put in place.  As soon as the words were out of Charlie’s mouth, the gossip reporter began her update on the radio.  Mac started to tell Charlie he could change the station now, but she stopped when she heard Will’s name.

“The breaking news is that ACN news anchor Will McAvoy left the court house today with his head high and a ring on his finger.”

Mac and Charlie looked at each other, Charlie letting out a “fuck!”

“Page 6 is reporting that after a little investigation, they learned that between the sentencing and surrending himself, McAvoy married his on again, off again love and producer Mallory McHale.”

“Son of a bitch!  They couldn’t even get my fucking name right?”  Mac reached for her purse to get her phone.  

“Mac, calm down.”

“I will not calm down.  My name is McKenzie, not Mallory.  And he was in love with me the whole time, even when he was fucking every woman in the tri state area.  And if they don’t know that…”

“Mac, they don’t matter.”  Charlie felt helpless.  He didn’t know how to calm her, especially when he wanted to take down whoever wrote that report to begin with.

“I have to call Don.  God damn it!  I wanted it to be us, our news, for just a couple days.  Just a couple fucking days.  And now we have to set the record straight already.  We have to make sure it’s not spun that, that…  He loves me, that’s the only reason he married me.”

“I know Mac.  Everyone who knows you and everyone who matters knows that he loves you.”

“Turn around, Charlie, we need to get back to the studio and get in front of this.  We have to put out a statement.  The network has to acknowledge it, I need to call Will’s publicist.”  Any composure she held vanished in the next second.  “Damn it, Charlie, it’s not fair.  It’s my wedding day and I don’t get to go home with my groom and I have to convince the world that my husband loves me.  He’s doing an honorable thing and he’s going to be a punch line on every late night show.”

Traffic out of the city was at a standstill, allowing Charlie to put his arm around Mac and let her cry into his shoulder.  He didn't let her now that his concern was her being the late night punchline. When she calmed down, he said, “Here’s what we’re going to do.  We’re going to call Don and Jim and you’re going to tell them exactly what you want Sloane and Elliot to say.  You get to make that call.  When we get home, we’ll draft a statement and send it to ACN and Will’s people and that will be the joint statement that they make.  And you will not under any circumstances watch any late night shows until Will is back on Monday.”

“Charlie, you know as well as I do that it’s going to be 10 days, if not more.”

“Ok, then you’re not allowed to watch late night TV for 10 days or more.”  He patted her on the shoulder.  “Call Jim and Don.  Doing something will make you feel better.  It’s 10 days Mac and he’s across town.  You’ll handle it like a champ.”

Mac took a breath and pulled her phone out of her purse.  “Don, Page 6 is reporting that Will is married.  We need to acknowledge it on the air.  Keep it simple, just say that he got married to his long time executive producer right after the sentencing and leave it there…. Thanks, and can you tell Jim the same?”


End file.
